


Hired

by PaperhatsAndEvilSchemes



Series: Paperhat? I'm Down For That [1]
Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Origin Story, idk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-12-04 11:30:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11554287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperhatsAndEvilSchemes/pseuds/PaperhatsAndEvilSchemes
Summary: Intimidation game strong





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author can be more easily reached and posts updates more frequently on their tumblr: https://paperhats-and-evil-schemes.tumblr.com/

_So this is how I die._

Flug was trembling so much that he feared he may fall over. Large backpack feeling immensely heavy on his shoulders all of a sudden, the scientist treaded carefully through the dark alley ahead of him. It stunk like rotting garbage and cold, musty air, and the walls were in such poor shape that they seemed to be almost peeling away.

Not that he could say much about being in poor shape. These were his best clothes and labcoat they  _still_ looked ratty… He never bothered much with appearance before, didn’t think it was worth wasting his scarce earnings on, but now he was kicking himself for not at least having  _one_ decent ensemble… First impressions are  _everything_ at job interviews….

Well, too late to worry about it now. Maybe the guy wouldn’t care so much, considering the seedy place he’s holding the meetings.

Every step felt like a heart attack. A rat scuttled by, and Flug nearly jumped out of his skin, sighing in relief when he realized what it was.  _Who holds job interviews in such **creepy** places!?_ Oh wait, right, he’s dealing with a supervillain, here….

Honestly, every part of him was screaming at himself to run away. To just forget about this and find some other, less scary, more  _normal_ employer….. The scientist’s life was already stressful enough, why not just forget about this and do something less crazy?

….. No. He  _had_ to do this. This is  _everything_ he’s worked for. It’s Black Hat or no one; Flug won’t settle for less. And what other time to do it? When he found out the eldritch was currently hiring in search of inventors for a business he’s been planning, Flug  _jumped_ at the opportunity. Who could ignore such perfect timing? He was fresh out of college, graduating with flying colors of course, and–

…. Wait a second.

Pausing in his tracks, a deep feeling of unease began to set in. Is that the smell of…. blood….?

Yep, definitely blood. Lots of it. Which means…. those vaguely human shaped masses a few meters ahead must be….

Well  _that_ wasn’t mentioned in the job description. He glanced down at the paper in his hands, adjusting his goggles, to double-check the meeting place, and–

“Oh don’t worry, you’re at the right place.”

Flug jumped back, startled by the sudden voice. When he looked up from the paper again, he saw a pair of eyes - wait, scratch that, an eye and a monocle - staring back at him from the darkness, along with a fanged grin that seemed to glow green in the night. When the figure emerged from the shadows, each move a smooth and power-emanating gesture, the scientist had no doubt in his mind that this was the one known as Black Hat. The all-powerful, undefeated demon of evil. Grown bored with his easy victories, the eldritch had a  _new_ idea to meet his ideals; rather than simply being the embodiment of evil, he could spread it to those that shared his ideals. Those poor, inferior villains, always bested by  _disgusting_ heroes…. it was sickening. Who better to lend them a helping hand than Black Hat himself?~ All in the name of evil, of course.

But for this, he needed someone. Someone capable of bringing his visions to life. Was this  _finally_ that someone?

Flug was shaking. This guy’s entire demeanor  _screamed_ evil. The mere way he strode towards Flug, the way he held himself tall and strong, the way he stared at the scientist with nothing short of a “don’t-waste-my-time” sort of stare…. It was about everything Flug had expected, and somehow more. Still, this was is first time seeing the demon in person, and he couldn’t help but cower back slightly in response to that intimidating…. well,  _everything_.

So far, Black Hat wasn’t impressed with what he was seeing. This guy  _radiated_ fear, how impressive could he possibly be?

“Hopefully you’ll be more interesting than the  _other_ bores I’ve met with today….” The demon commented, kicking the arm of one of the corpses out of his path. Unless Flug was seeing things, he could’ve sworn he saw the man wipe a subtle trace of blood off his claws and onto his coat…. but if anything, the scientist’s obvious growing discomfort only made Blackhat smirk slightly. Sure, this timid little man didn’t seem like a suitable candidate, but at least he had something more to take out his pent-up frustrations on now.

Might as well give the man a chance to talk first, though.

Flug’s eyes flicked to the bloody bodies behind Black Hat before falling on the demon again. Swallowing hard, the shaky scientist reached into his coat and awkwardly fumbled in pulling out some neatly stapled-together papers.  "I-I-I, um, b-brought m-my resume and c-credentials from–“

_**"Oh for Hell’s sake.”** _

Flug jumped, skittishly dropping the papers at Black Hat’s snarl.

 _“I don’t want to see your **resume and credentials**." _ The demon snapped, tapping his cane to the ground with an impatient clack.  _"I want to know what you can_ **do.** **Right here** _and_ **right now.”** His visible eye narrowed.  _"Or did you **ignore** the part of the flyer that said to bring an example of your creations?”_

“O-Oh! Of c-course…!” How could he be so stupid? Of  _course_ he’d want to cut right to the chase, stupid Flug… “I-I brought s-several t-things to display…” Damn this stutter. Damn his nervousness. He was messing this all up, he just  _knew_ it. And now he was shaking so hard he could barely pull his invention out of one of the raggety pockets of his coat. It was some kind of strange-looking metallic rod with an assortment of buttons along one side. “T-This one I call the Liquiflux…. It’s c-capable of m-melting through  _any_ substance, n-no matter how t-tough….”

Black Hat rolled his eyes. He’s heard his fair share of sales pitches today, and each of them seemed to grossly exaggerate the product’s actual capabilities. This won’t be any different, he was sure- might melt a garbage bin or two, but  _anything?_ Yeah right….

Fuck. Of  _all_ the times for the machine to stall. As if Flug didn’t look bad enough already. Frustratedly smacking the side of the Liquiflux a couple times and doing everything he could to avoid the demon’s eyes, he stuttered, “I-I-It’ll j-just be another m-moment, w-we’re just having some t-technical d-difficulties–”

“Don’t bother. I’ve seen enough.” Truth be told, Black Hat had already made his decision when he first laid eyes on Flug. Like  _Hell_ he’d hire someone so… so  _feeble and useless._  With a chilling grin, the demon’s head tilted to the side, shadows around him suddenly lighting him much more ominously than before. “It’s been a pleasure, but I’m afraid you’re simply  _not_ what I’m looking for.”

“Wh–” Flug’s eyes widened when he saw a thorn-lined tentacle shoot out of the monster’s back and directly at him. Without even thinking, he pointed the Liquiflux at it and fired.

There was a shout of what could’ve been pain from Black Hat, but sounded more like stunned surprise. The scientist’s eyes widened further when realization sunk in of what he had just done, and he stepped back in terror. “I-I-I’m so sorry…!!”

Black Hat looked nothing short of shocked as he withdrew the half of the tentacle that had survived the hit. He stared at the ground where the half that had melted away stained the ground like black tar.

_It… It worked on **him?**_

Turning his full attention to the scientist once more, a hint of anger seeped through the shock on his face. “Y-You little…! How  _dare_ you!” With that, a whole flurry of tentacles shot out from the creature, each clearly poised on ripping the scientist to shreds. Flug shakily aimed his weapon again, but yelped in pain when a laser of heat vision singed his hand and caused him to drop it.

The demon grinned wider. He could pick that up later and have it replicated eventually, he was sure, and this little man just gave him plenty reason to kill him. Not that he needed a good reason, but still. With everything now working in his favor, Black Hat’s appendages all descended upon Flug at once, and his easy victory seemed assured-

 _“Activate jet packs!"_ The scientist yelped suddenly.

"Wait, wh-” Black Hat couldn’t even finish his confused query before his tentacles instinctively recoiled in response to two blasts of fire suddenly shooting out from the man’s backpack, and the demon stared, dumbfounded, as it launched him into the air. “Why you–!  _Get back here!_ ”

Flug panickedly did all he could to avoid the tentacles, taking every evasive maneuver he could muster in the narrow spaces of the alley, but when one of the appendages took out one of his jet packs, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay in the air for much longer.

 _“Spider legs…!"_ was the next confusing voice command to leave the doctor’s mouth. As he said it, eight intricately-designed robotic limbs protruded from the backpack, each leg at least three times the length of the man. They effortlessly latched onto the nearest wall, perfectly holding on.

Again, Black Hat found himself giving the scientist a dumbfounded stare. Okay,  _first of all_ , how the hell did that sack even  _fit_ all of this? Secondly…..  _huh_. This guy might deserve some second thoughts. What  _else_ can he do, the demon wondered….

With more restraint this time, Black Hat continued lashing the tentacles at Flug. In response, the legs skittered speedily across the wall and even jumped from one buildingside to the other, avoiding each of Black’s strike with surprising ease.

Interesting.

What’s even  _more_ interesting is how the scientist wasn’t taking this opportunity to escape. From the looks he kept giving towards an exit, he almost seemed to want to, but was obviously conflicted with himself. Did he really want this job that badly…?

No longer holding back, Black Hat aimed calculating swipes at the mechanical limbs, managing to swipe it right off its feet and cause Flug to fall with it to the ground. The doctor winced in pain as he tried to get up, unable to get very far due to being restricted by the weight of the fallen machinery still attached to his backpack. He desperately fumbled to get the sack off his shoulders, but froze when he saw Black Hat slowly striding towards him with unsheathed claws.

In some pathetic last-ditch effort to protect himself, the trembling scientist threw his arms up in front of his face, eyes squeezed shut. It took everything he had to force himself to utter one last voice command. "Raise forcefield….!!” He squeaked.

Black Hat paused in his tracks as a small blue bubble of energy immediately formed around his target. Blinking slowly, he tilted his head, eying the quivering scientist inside. All murderous intent that had been in his eye before seemed to be replaced with curiosity, and honestly, looked almost impressed as well. “…… Congratulations.” The demon said suddenly, Flug peeking out from behind his arms in confusion to see a sinister smile stretch across the demon’s face. “You’ve caught my attention.”

He drew closer till he reached the edge of the forcefield, dragging a claw curiously along the edges. It felt strange, not quite solid, but not like he could simply pass through it, either. It left a tingling feeling in Black Hat’s hand. The scientist kept a nervous but hopeful eye on the demon as he walked a slow circle around the bubble, evaluating it. Flug jumped when he testingly shot a beam of heat vision at it, then another, followed by several forceful blows from his tentacles.

“….. Huh.” Black Hat commented quietly, blinking again. He didn’t faze the field at  _all_.  Imagine the extent of hero powers that could block out. Talk about useful tech for villains  _everywhere_. His eyes wandered to the Liquiflux, which had worked far better than he gave it credit for, then to the tangle of robotic appendages laying behind Flug within the bubble. “…… You built all this yourself?”

“Y-Yes…” Flug answered softly, fiddling with the cuffs of his coat.

Another small noise that sounded vaguely impressed left Black Hat’s mouth. “Do you still want this job?”

“Absolutely!” came the immediate response, Flug’s eyes shooting up to meet Black Hat’s. Apparently almost getting slaughtered by a possible employer didn’t waver his eagerness any. Good.

“You know what my goal is, do you not?” Black Hat questioned further.

“To spread evil, as far as it can be spread.” The scientist answered, an unmistakable flicker of ambition flashing in his eyes. “Start a new era for villains everywhere. End their suffering at the hands of heroes, and show them how to push back.”

“Absolutely correct….. Only seems fitting that this world’s most supreme being of evil be the one to expand evil’s reach, no?~” The demon purred, smirking slightly. “So tell me, why do you want to assist me in my mission?”

Now Flug paused, carefully considering the question. “I want to be….. I want to be  _worth_ something… to someone who is  _worth something_.” He answered slowly. It was a vague answer, but hopefully clear enough. “I want to be able to do something  _big_ through the things I’m passionate about…. and this…. well…..” He fiddled with his fingers. “This is kind of the perfect job for that…. It’s…. everything I want to do…..”

Silent for some time, Black Hat held a firm, stony gaze on Flug, analyzing him.

Then, his eyes flicked across the surroundings in search of something, gaze falling upon the papers Flug had dropped earlier. He reached a tentacle over to sweep them up, bringing them over and taking them into his hands.

“Hm.” The eldritch flipped through the pages slowly, looking each one over in a thoughtful manner. “Top of your class throughout all of your schooling history, perfect attendance record, developed countless inventions that deliver new bests in many a product’s speed, power, frequency, and reliability, brilliant inventions in  _general_ ….” His eye then narrowed, looking the scientist up and down. “I don’t get it. For somebody so brilliantly genius and full of potential, I’d have expected someone less….  _unkempt_.” There was a pointed stare at his tattered clothing. “Can’t be bothered to get clothes still in one piece?”

Flug’s heart sank. For a second there he thought things were going well. Looking down at his fiddling fingers shamefully, he mumbled weakly, “I-I, um…. d-don’t have much to spare for that sort of thing….”

“No?” The demon sounded surprised. “I would have thought someone with such accomplishments would be well off.”

“W-Well…” The scientist rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking away, “M-Most of my inventions are made for my college and with  _their_ supplies, so they get basically all the profit from what I come up with,  _especially_ since I can’t pay them back for their resources otherwise…. a-and, well, not many people want to hire someone like… um….  _me_ ….. looking like  _this_ ….” He nimbly gestured to the bag he has always insisted on wearing, as well as his ratty attire, “so I have to make do with what I can in self-employment, m-mostly repairs and stuff, and basically all of  _that_ money goes towards schooling–”

“Alright, alright, I get your point.” Black Hat cut him off. Got to hand it to the guy, he is dedicated to his education….

….. Wait.

“You made all this in some measly school lab?”

“Uh…. Y-Yes…..?”

“And  _only_ using their supplies?”

“W-Well, I had to do some improvising on these ones…. Got some supplies of my own so that I could keep them… m-mostly scrap metal and things, whatever I could find in the town dump and junkyard…. D-Didn’t use my school’s supplies unless I absolutely had to for slight tweaks and things…..” Flug paused, frowning. “Umm….. s-sir…..? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Black Hat didn’t even realize how bewildered he looked.

_Unbelievable._

All day he’s been dealing with big-name professional scientists that worked in only the  _best_ labs, with the  _best-of-the-best_ equipment,  _years upon years_ of experience…. and then this nervous little wreck of a college graduate teeters in here with the most  _impressive_ things he’s seen yet, and says they’re mostly  _scrap metal and junk_. Made in some  _mediocre college lab_.

This guy, this annoying, pathetic-looking, measly little  _human_ ….. is a bloody  _gold mine_. And a  _willing_ one, at that.

A large grin stretched across the demon’s face, one that Flug wouldn’t have thought to be physically possible if he weren’t seeing it up close. Leaning forward till his face was mere inches from the bubble, Black Hat purred lowly, “So tell me…. What do you think you could accomplish with all the top-quality lab equipment and supplies you could ask for? No limitations?”

Flug stared directly into Black Hat’s eyes, all nervousness, anxiety and uncertainty seeming to completely melt away for just that moment.  _“ **Anything**.”_

There’s the clincher. Black Hat’s grin grew wider. “That’s the most confidence I’ve heard out of anyone all day.” He stepped back, using his tentacles yet again to pluck something off the ground, this time the Liquiflux. With a smirk, he aimed it at the forcefield. “Can melt through  _any_ substance, you said?”

“Uhhhh….. yeeaah……” Flug confirmed, nervousness slowly returning as he inched back slightly. He just hoped  _he_ wouldn’t get hit by the ray through this….

Black Hat aimed the device at the bubble and flicked it on in the same way he saw Flug do. A thin white beam of light struck the field, melting it away as if it were a hollow sphere of chocolate. He grinned yet again, very pleased with this device’s success on top of the others. The eldritch strode forwards, and with a snap of his fingers, the collapsed robot legs evaporated into a black inky substance before trailing back inside Flug’s bag, perfectly reforming. Flipping his cane upside-down, he hooked it along the backpack’s loop and hoisted Flug to his feet. “Well, doctor, I suppose you’re actually  _exactly_ what I’m looking for…. Consider the job yours.”

Taking a second to catch his balance after being so roughly hoisted up, the scientist’s eyes suddenly lit up. He’d been  _hired_. He'd  _done_ it. “D-Doctor….?” He repeated in confusion.

“This  **is** a Doctorate of Science, is it not?” Black Hat smirked, returning Flug’s papers to him with the laminated page he was referencing placed in front. “So you are my  _doctor_.”

 _Doctor_ …. He hadn’t actually been referred to by that title before….. He kind of likes the sounds of that.

“First thing’s first, though.” The eldritch’s voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he saw Black Hat was giving his clothes an unimpressed look. “We’re getting you new clothes.”

“B-But I can’t pay–!”

“Consider it a part of your first paycheck.” The demon cut him off, waving away whatever protest he was about to make, “I can’t exactly build a respectable name for my business if my doctor is in tatters.” Turning away, Black Hat started to walk out of the alley and into the city streets. “I don’t care what you pick out, so long as you don’t look like something I dragged out of a  _sewer_.”

Flug didn’t move at first, just stared blankly at his new employer.

This was going to be…. an  _interesting_ job, wasn’t it……

“Are you coming or not?” Black Hat snapped impatiently, glancing back.

“Y-Yes…..! Coming, sir!”


	2. Don't Try To Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BH is suspicious of and weirded out by fucking everything  
> Also Lil Jack is a bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured instead of posting this as a new work it'd make more sense to add it as a part of the other pre-Paperhat bit. :p

So  _maybe_ Black Hat was a  _little_ out of practice when it comes to people working for him.  _Maybe_ he was….  _unaccustomed_ to treating people like… well.  _People_.

But who cares! He's  _Black Hat!_ And this scrawny little stick of a scientist - what was his name again? Chug? Klug? Something dumb like that - should feel  _honored_ to have been allowed to work alongside him in the rise of his company. The human  _knows_ what he signed up for. Black Hat doesn’t have to give a single fuck about being “nice” or “decent”. That concept in itself is a  _joke!_

Luckily, the human does not complain about his working conditions, or his boss’s less-than-decent treatment of him. Good. He  _shouldn't_ complain. Though, that being said, he  _is_ very…. anxious. Like. Constantly. Black Hat  _knows_ he’s scary, but even with that in consideration, it’s kind of ridiculous. Black Hat’s had trouble getting used to him. He’s nothing like other humans he’s held long-term interactions with - granted, those that were lucky enough to be in his presence for such time without getting killed were usually other villains, and powerful ones at that. Ones that could at least hold  _one_ conversation without flinching. Nobody quite so… timid.

Still, honestly, this guy’s kind of just… weird in  _general_. Like…  _Flug Slys?_  Is that  _literally_ what his resume says? What kind of a human name even  _is_ that? Right from day one, the man's been a bit of a puzzle. Not one Black Hat was particularly interested in  _solving_ , mind you - all he cared about was that he did his work well. All these strange little quirks were just interesting to note, is all. Like that bag. That was just plain  _bizarre_. I mean, he’s met villains with  _far_ stranger attire, so it’s really nothing worth  _commenting_ on, but  _seriously_ , does he wear that  _everywhere_?

Well. At least he’s actually wearing proper  _clothes_ now, as opposed to the tatters Black Hat found him in.

Yes, right from day one Flug has been confusing him… Even something as simple as getting him a new  _ensemble_ was unnecessarily puzzling, wasn’t it? Maybe he was looking too much into it but it was just so  _odd_ ….

_“Is **that** what you’re getting?”_

_Black Hat’s arms were crossed, head tilted in what almost looked to be a cross between confusion and distaste as he looked over the rather plain selection of clothing Flug had picked out._

_A cheap pair of jeans, generic-looking blue T-shirt with a simple airplane design on it, some basic red sneakers… The only thing he got that wasn’t completely dirt-cheap was a decent, white labcoat, but even **that** wasn't particularly special in any way and he  **still** seemed hesitant to even pick that out._

_“Um….. Y-Yes….?” The scientist looked down at the clothes in his arms, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with his choice._

_Black Hat obviously wasn’t impressed. “Do you take me for a **cheap** man, doctor?” He growled with narrowed eyes, “Or did you not  **hear** me when I said you could get whatever you want?”_

_“N-No, I heard y-you….!” Flug yelped, shrinking away slightly due to the other’s hostility. What was wrong with what he picked? These were more expensive than any outfit **he** owns. Does Black Hat  **want** him to waste money? “D-Do you want me to p-pick something else, s-sir…?”_

_“I **told** you, I don't  **care** what you buy!” The demon snapped sharply, resulting in the doctor flinching back again. Bloody hell, will he  **always** be like that? Swiping the garments from Flug’s grasp, he folded them neatly over his arm. Still, he didn’t seem convinced. "You mean to tell me this is  **actually** what you  **want**?“_

_"I d-don’t have a p-preference…? I t-thought these were f-fine…” Now Flug was fiddling nervously with his fingers, unsure of what to do to satisfy this guy. "I-I-I c-can p-put it b-back if you’d p-p-prefer–“ He cut himself off with another fearful yelp, jolting back and throwing his arms in front of his face when the demon snarled harshly at him._

_” **Enough of your bloody stuttering, boy!** “ Black Hat barked, almost making the shorter man fall over when he started to yank him towards a till. "And what part of ‘I don’t care’ do you not get!?" _

_At that point, Flug didn’t risk chasing the matter further, instead just mumbling quick apologies as his boss paid for the garments. The demon merely rolled his eyes, inwardly questioning why he had to get stuck with such a spineless little whelp. He disregarded the apologies, rummaging through his coat for the money._

_Honestly…. Humans are **greedy by nature** , so why did he get such  **cheap** things? Usually the creatures  **jump** at the chance to feed off another’s wealth. _

_Whatever. Who **cares** what his reasons are. Weird human wears  **bags** 24/7, after all-_

_"Th-Thank you, sir…”_

_The soft voice caught him off-guard. Black Hat looked at the smaller man as if he were crazy. “What?”_

_“I-I…. uh….. Thank you…..?” Flug repeated with far less certainty (as if there were any in the first place). “F-For the clothes….?”_

_….. Ah. Of course. That 'gratitude’ thing that some humans seem to practice. Euch._

_“Believe me when I say that this purchase was **not** meant as any sort of  **favor** to you.” Black Hat retorted with disgust, “I simply refuse to  **jeopardize** my business’s reputation  **already** by picking up someone that looks like a  **grimy street vagrant**.” Marching right out of the store with Flug in quick pursuit, the demon glanced back at his new little tool– ahem–  **employee** – and quirked an eyebrow. “Come to think of it- where is it that you reside? Not  **actually** homeless, are you?”_

_“Ah… N-No, sir…?” Ignoring that mild feeling of offense taken, Flug gave a vague gesture down the street. “I-I have an ap-partment a few b-blocks away, b-but why–?”_

_Aaaand there he goes in that direction._

_Flug almost tripped over his own feet catching up to him again. “S-Sir, I d-don’t understand…!?” He sputtered, “Why do you even–!? I-It’s not exactly f-fit for c-company, and-!”_

_“Don’t care.” Black Hat cut him off. “Be ready to get together any essential belongings when we arrive. You’ll be moving into my manor for as long as I employ you.”_

_“Wait, wha-!?” In his shock, Flug almost forgot to keep pace, rushing to catch up yet again. “B-B-But sir, I-I wouldn’t want to i-imp-pose–!”_

_“You’ll be spending most of your time there to work anyways.” Lucky for Flug he was used to being cut off, because it looks like that’s going to happen a lot here. With seemingly no care in the world, Black Hat twirled his cane as he walked. “It only makes sense that you should simply **live** there, does it not?”_

_“But-!”_

_“But **what?** ” The demon snapped, glancing back once more. “You think I cannot provide adequate housing?”_

_“Wh-! N-No, of course not…!”_

_“It’s settled, then. For convenience’s sake, you will be moving in.” Before Flug could protest again, Black Hat pointed his cane down an upcoming turn. “This way?”_

_“Ah- y-yes…” Following his superior down the street, Flug’s bag concealed a slight frown. “You’re… sure it’s n-not any t-trouble…?”_

_What came from Black Hat next was probably the most exasperated sigh Flug's ever heard. “If it **was** , I wouldn’t have decided to  **do** it.” He turned to the man, peeved. “Is there anything  **else** redundant you’d like to say? I’m getting tired of this pointless little back-and-forth.”_

_“I-I– uh– …. N-No, sir.”_

_“Good.” Eldritch eyes were set again on the path ahead of them. “Then let’s get this done with.”_

_-_

_“Sorry ab-bout the m-mess…”_

_Flug led Black Hat into the what must’ve been the shittiest apartment in the shittiest apartment building in town, leaving the demon in the main room as he went off to a side room to gather some things. It honestly wasn’t as messy a place as the scientist seemed to think it was - then again, he **is** someone who’s been to some rather slovenly evil lairs in his time. (Once you’ve visited someone who lives in a literal sewer, a mildly sloppy fresh-out-of-college graduate's abode isn’t much of a bother.) A bit of dirty laundry scattered about here and there, dirty dishes strewn around, a very faint smell of old instant noodles wafting in the heavy air… lives like a true college student, doesn’t he._

_“Not only your clothes you don’t seem to care about keeping tidy, I see.” Black Hat commented casually, swiping some dust off the coffee table with a finger. You can tell a lot about a person by the space they live in, but… hmm. No pictures, no silly decorations humans usually seem to enjoy, just a very…. bland little box._

_“I-I’m so s-sorry, sir, I n-never have g-guests h-here…” Flug replied from the other room._

_“No?” Black Hat circled around, looking for anything eye-catching that might communicate some more information about how this human thinks, but there wasn’t much for the eye to catch. “Don’t invite friends or family over? I thought humans your age did that sort of thing a lot.”_

_“No family to speak of, sir, and I-I’ve never been much of a f-fan of m-making 'friends’…..” Flug explained, a faint level of unusual nonchalance that the eldritch wouldn’t have expected in his scientist’s voice for a moment._

_“…. Hmm.” The eldritch’s gaze fell upon a work desk scrunched up in the corner. Why was he not surprised that it was the only tidy space of the apartment? “No girlfriend either?”_

_If Black Hat wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn he heard a sharp little laugh from the other room before Flug replied, “No, sir.”_

_“Boyfriend?”_

_“ **No** , sir.”_

_“So you’re a hermit.” Black Hat concluded simply, glancing over some notes and sketches on his desk. There was also a closed laptop, which of course, Black Hat opened._

_“H-Hermit?” Another small little laugh came from the human. “I w-wouldn’t say **that** , b-but I-I guess you have a p-point…?”_

_Grand. Then he won’t be wasting time on stupid pointless 'social interaction’ distractions. Black Hat really lucked out on this guy._

_Damn. Computer’s password protected. Oh, well…. The next thing his gaze fell upon was a calendar hanging just above the computer. Only two days had been marked - May 3rd, 'Pay Judas back’ - whatever that meant - and May 18th, 'Meet with BH. DON’T MESS UP!’. Pfft. The demon couldn’t help but crack a smirk._

_Wandering back towards the coffee table, Black Hat tapped his cane idly on the ground with each step. “How much more do you need to pack?”_

_“I-I think that ab-bout covers the es-ssentials, I just need t-to grab m-my computer and notes…” Flug called over, returning to the main room to do so. Seemed all he had was his large backpack and a toolbox on him, the backpack being where he promptly shoved the laptop and papers._

_With a curt nod, Black Hat wasted no time in heading for the door. “Come along, then. It’s time you settled into your new home.”_

_The walk to the villa was mostly silent. It was the quietest either of them had been since meeting. Black Hat took the hushed moment to look over his new employee._

_He thought it would be easy to figure out this little… scrawny human… **thing** … but already he’s skewered Black Hat’s expectations more than once._

_Good. Even if the jittery little twit would undoubtedly be **very** annoying with that extremely anxious behavior… Black Hat could definitely  use something unpredictable in his life. Hopefully he just doesn’t become boring too soon like everything else._

 

A year has passed since then. Black Hat was  _sure_ he’d have the human completely figured out by now, and yet…

Sigh. Well, as he thought earlier, perhaps he’s just out of practice dealing so closely with people… but still, he can’t recall being quite so stumped by another’s behavior in the  _past_ …

“S-s-sir…?”

Black Hat’s ponderings were cut short, attention stolen by none other than the doctor himself. He stopped just outside Black Hat's office doors nervously, not daring to take a step inside unless instructed to do so.

“What is it, Dr.Flug?”

“I-I, um, n-n-need you t-to sign off on t-this order….”

“Well, then.” The demon responded flatly. “You’re going to have to  _come inside_  for that, aren’t you.”

 _Immediate_ reaction. Flug stumbled inside quickly at that command, shuffling the papers in his hands out of nervousness.

“Supplies for Build-bot, I assume?” Black Hat mused as the forms were brought over, plucking his quill pen from the ink bottle on his desk and tapping it on the bottle’s edge to remove excess ink.

“Y-Yes, sir. Build-bot’s been working v-very efficiently.” The doctor offered a hesitant smile, even with the smallest hint of pride. A rare expression on him, but Black Hat’s started to notice it when he talks about some of his better inventions. “I-It’s already finished restocking our s-sold-out items. With this shipment of new p-parts, it can g-get started on recreating our n-newer products, so–

"I know what the machine does, doctor.” His boss curtly cut him off, signing the papers after a quick read-through and handing them back to Flug. His eyes narrowed when they met Flug’s again. "Just make sure it  _keeps_ working 'very efficiently’.“

"Ah… Y-y-yes, s-sir….” That phrase had quickly become the most common thing out of Flug’s mouth these days. Movements as jittery as ever, he quickly took the forms back and skittered out of the room. 

Black Hat rolled his eyes.  _Honestly_. Just  _had_ to get stuck with an annoying, nervous wreck.

…… Well. He does a good job, at least. That’s all that matters. And to be frank, he was absolutely right about Build-bot. The machine’s helped  _immensely_ in getting this business to take off. It was one of the doctor’s better ideas… one of his first, in fact. 

And Black Hat had almost gotten it  _scrapped_ , hadn’t he. That would have been… unfavorable, considering.

 

_“What is this?”_

_The sudden voice had made Flug jump, near dropping the clunky piece of machinery he’d been working on. Despite having been working under Black Hat for a few months now, he was definitely not used to how this demon could just suddenly appear in a room without a hint of warning. It was jarring, but… tolerable. Flug placed his pliers in a nearby toolbox and glanced at Black Hat, whom had taken to standing next to a large, rather unsubtle massive shape in the corner of the lab, blanketed beneath a beige sheet and with a box of scrap metal and identical-looking parts beside it. His boss’s gaze was suspicious, accusatory, as if Flug had committed some crime. (Now wouldn't **that** be ironic?)_

_“I-It’s, um….” Hesitantly walking over, Flug frowned just slightly, wondering if he had done anything wrong…? He could just be in a bad mood… that seems to happen pretty often with him… but either way, Flug’s learned by now to tread carefully. "W-Well, I, um, h-had been keeping it in m-my room but it started t-taking up too much sp-space… It-It’s just a little side p-project I was w-working o-on-“_

_” **Side project?** “ Black Hat’s snarl rumbled like thunder, Flug jolting back in fear. His object of terror only loomed over him in response, shrinking the little scientist down into nothing. ” **Do I pay you to waste time and resources on bloody**_ **_s̷͇̱͙i̼̦͇̺̺̬͎d̷̢͓̭̩̱͠e̷̴̹̙͙͕͍ ̡͏̬̣̤ͅp̷̱̪̝̠r̨͓͎ͅo͕̟̦͚̖͇̟͢͞j̴̬̪͙͕͕̦͟e̘͘c̨̫̭͠ͅt̩̫s͈?̸͈̦̻̻̱̜̳̞̦_ ** _“_

_Bad mood._

_Flug’s heart was already pounding so hard that it may lurch out of his chest at any moment. He struggled to stay calm enough to at least be comprehensible, trembling as he backed against his work table. "N-n-n-no, it-it’s not l-l-like that a-at all…!” He squeaked, “I-I h-haven’t b-b-been sp-spending w-work hours on it, I-I–" His stuttering was cut short by an angry hiss, eye-riddled tentacles lashing left and right in irritation. Rather than trying to justify himself, Flug resorted to frantic apologies instead; another common trend lately._

_"I-I’m sorry s-sir, I’m s-s-so s-sorry…!!” The scientist tore his terrified gaze away from the creature to grab his toolkit, knowing he had to fix this mistake somehow he had to fix it he couldn’t get himself fired he had to **fix this** – “I-I can d-d-disassemble it, use the p-parts for something else– I-It w-won’t h-h-hap-ppen ag-gain–” Flug started towards the concealed machine, but he jolted back yet again when his kit was knocked from his hands by one of the hellish appendages. Now at a complete loss of what to do, he simply remained glued to his place, frozen in fear staring at the angry eldritch like a deer in headlights._

_“ **Well now, not so fast.** ” Black Hat hissed, voice  **unimaginably** condescending, but at least he wasn’t yelling anymore. He circled Flug with all the predatory smoothness of a shark circling its prey, then moved on until he was beside the machine again, eyes locked onto his employee all the while. “I want to  **see** what you thought was  **so worthy of wasting valuable time and resources on**.”_

_When the doctor failed to produce a response, just remaining frozen in place, his boss’s eyes narrowed, an impatient growl and tap of the cane thawing the quivering human out fast. “ **Well?** ” Black Hat snapped, gesturing to the sheet._

_“O-o-oh….!” Like a trained dog, Flug scampered to the machine’s side. “O-of c-c-course, sir, s-sorry sir…!”_

_Black Hat watched intensely as his employee drew back the cloth cover, blinking a few times in surprise when he started to see the incredibly intricate handiwork beneath. The demon drew slowly closer to admire it._

_It was definitely Flug’s largest invention so far. Rows of gears lined across the sleek, silver metal, and an impressive array of mechanical limbs sprouted from its core in a neat, orderly arrangement. It was obviously incomplete - certain panels open to display tangles of wires on its insides, some parts of the body unfinished - but it still looked to be a very potential-filled piece of work._

_“I-I’ve only b-b-been w-working on it d-during b-breaks, I s-swear….” Flug assured him, unnerved by the demon’s silent observation of it, “A-a-and I’ve b-been using m-my own m-m-money f-for the s-supplies, n-not company f-funds–”_

_“What does it do?” Black Hat cut him off, not taking his eyes off the invention. The hostility in his voice seemed to be replaced with curiosity, much to Flug’s relief, but the scientist still did not relax._

_“W-Well, um… s-sales have b-been going so well, already, I-I j-just…” Nervously fiddling his fingers, the doctor looked everywhere except at his employer. “I-I just thought it would be more conv-venient t-to make something that can restock our p-products at a f-faster rate than I c-could…._

_…. Oh…?_

_Black Hat’s gaze fell on Flug again, expression fairly neutral minus the curiosity. "Is it functional at all yet?”_

_“Uh… It st-still needs a lot of work, b-but it c-can build one thing so f-far….?”_

_“Show me.”_

_“I… uh….. Y-Yes, sir…”_

_Praying Black Hat didn’t hear his nervous gulp, Flug shuffled over to the box next to the machine, picking out an assortment of parts. His boss watched intensely as he laid the parts out in front of his invention, watched as he then moved to turn the thing on._

_There was a whirr, a click… and just like that, the invention started to move, mechanical appendages - slow and twitchy as they were right now - began to reach for the parts. It picked them up, seeming to be examining each piece closely, carefully….. Then came the good part._

_Some of the machine’s limbs clicked and groaned as they opened up to reveal smaller appendages with all sorts of tool attachments - drills, wrenches, screwdrivers, blowtorches - it was a toolbox come to life, basically - and it started to shape the scrap pieces into specific forms, piecing and melding them together with ease. It couldn’t have been any more than five minutes before a fully complete Liquiflux was presented to the scientist and demon, each specification correct down to every last detail._

_Flug started to reach for the item, but his boss had beat him to it, snatching it up in a tentacle to take a closer look._

_Damn. Even he had to admit, this is very good. Flug’s always been insanely fast when it comes to building things, of course - why, it usually takes him a mere twenty minutes or so to get one of these made, which is impressive in and of **itself** , considering - but  **this** …this could more than quadruple the speed their product output and it’s not even done yet? _

_“I-I-It st-still needs a l-lot of work…” Flug mumbled as Black Hat fiddled testily with the weapon in his hands, “It’s s-sup-pposed to b-be able to go f-faster…”_

_He can make it go **faster**?_

_The doctor went to his creation to turn it off, avoiding eye contact. “A-And it can only make a couple thing so f-far, but I, um…” He swallowed again, starting to tinker around with some exposed wires as he spoke, “I-I just thought it w-would help with p-production sp-speed and give me m-more time to focus on n-new inventions, but i-it would still t-take me some t-t-time to g-get it working o-opt-timal-lly…… I-I’ll put its parts t-to something else inst-tea–"_

_Black Hat silenced his employee with the quick wave of a hand, though still did not give him so much as a glance yet. ”…… I will not tolerate you wasting hours of time and equipment just to scrap it.“ He said finally. Really, it’s a **great** idea. It  **is**. But Black Hat will certainly  **not** encourage insubordination. Turning to Flug with narrowed eyes, he went on, "You may complete the bloody thing, but  **next time** , you will  **consult me** before pursuing these little 'ideas’ of yours. Understood?”_

_“Y-Y-Yes sir…" The eye contact barely lasted a second with how quick Flug looked down. ”… U-Um….“_

_” **Is there something else?** “ Black Hat snapped, tone just accusatory enough to make Flug flinch again with unease._

_The doctor bit his tongue, walking over to retrieve something from his desk, then returning to Black Hat’s side, trembling. "P-p-please d-don’t be a-a-angry…” He quivered, holding out one of his notebooks._

_At first Black Hat seemed confused, quirking an eyebrow. He took the scientist’s notebook and began to flip through it._

_It was full of other ideas like this. Interesting little thoughts and ponderings, rough sketches of other machines listed and labelled with possible functions - they didn’t look half-bad, honestly. The human’s obviously got a very creative mind - ah, but Black Hat knew this already. Does that excuse him working on things **other** than his given tasks?_

_Well… he did say he wasn’t doing this sort of thing during work hours, after all, so **perhaps** it was acceptable…_

_“…. I will take this back to my office to look over.” The demon finally stated, narrowed eyes flicking to Flug once more. “I expect you to come see me after your shift today to review these with me.”_

_Oh thank god he wasn’t going to tear Flug’s head off thank fucking **god**. “Y-Yes s-s-sir." _

_Having gotten his point across, Black Hat left the lab to let him get back to work, continuing to skim through the book as he made his way to his office._

_Full of ideas, this one…._

 

Once again, Black Hat found his train of thought being derailed by that timid little knock that was becoming so familiar. 

"S-Sorry for the int-terruption, s-sir….” Flug apologized as he entered the office, papers in hand as usual, “Y-You wanted me t-t- inform you of when miss Q-Quinn’s order was ready…? I-It should be done by t-tomorro–”

“Dr. Flug, it  _is_ tomorrow.” Black Hat gestured to a clock hanging over the doorway. 5 AM, it read. “What are you still doing up?”

“O-Oh…. I….. um…. W-Working, sir….?” He offered hesitantly. Truth be told, Flug hadn’t quite…  _realized_ how late it had gotten….

Of bloody course. “ _Go to bed_ , doctor. I will  _not_ have a repeat of the  _cesium incident_.” Black Hat growled starkly.

“But–”  
  


“ ** _N̴̫̫̲͉̻̮̗̍͛̂ͦ̅̍Ơ̙̣̱̪͖̜̗͖̦ͣ͛ͭͥ̓̒ͧ̐W͔̠̙͐͂͠_**.”  
  


“ _Yes, sir_ ….!” Flug squeaked immediately in submission, quickly getting out of there.

And just like that, he was gone again. 

Black Hat spun around in his chair so his back was to the door, rubbing his temples with an annoyed sigh.  _He’s his **boss** , not his bloody  **babysitter** , goddammit._ Flug is a _scientific genius_ , Black Hat shouldn’t have to  _constantly fucking remind him that he needs to eat and sleep to **function**_. The stupid human’s not  _allowed_ to get himself  _killed_ and deprive the world’s greatest villain from _profiting off of him_  - If starving himself doesn’t get to him first, then the sleep deprivation sure will, especially when he starts  _falling asleep in the middle of handling one of the most explosive elements known to man and nearly getting his arm blown off_.

Sigh. Moron…. Must remember to unplug Flug's alarm clock later, while he’s thinking about it….

Spinning till he was again facing his desk, Black Hat pulled out a small dark notepad, his initials embroidered with scarlet thread in its leather cover. He flipped through pages of notes, pausing at one of the most recent things he had written.

Just as he suspected. The Quinn order doesn’t even need to be  _done_ until the end of the week.  _Honestly_ , he knows he’s been somewhat demanding of the scientist, but this is  _ridiculous_. One thing he definitely thought he’d never have to yell at an employee for is working  ** _too_** hard.

Reaching back into the drawer, he exchanged his notepad for one of Flug’s. It’s become a bit of a routine now, Flug simply delivering notes of passing ideas he has for Black Hat to look over and possibly improve upon. 

This time, though, most of the invention concepts seem fine as is. A design for a small little robot in Black Hat’s image - Hatbot, looks like the name is - and there’s some notes scribbled on the side, too…

_Note: Mr. BH does not like people._

_Real fuckin’ detective work there, genius._  Black Hat thought to himself, but he kept reading.

_-By extension: does not like working with people. Reluctance to hire more staff. Maybe would prefer an AI to help around the house? Unsure. Consult Mr. BH._

Hm. Well, it’s a thought worth considering… but what’s to say a little robot won’t be just as annoying as another person? Either way, he’ll burn that bridge when he gets to it. Next page.

Oh, now  _that_ looks interesting. A rough sketch of what looked to be a camcorder with all sorts of appendages attached to it - a microphone, a light source, a clawed hand - What do the notes on this one say?

_Note: Camerawork is mediocre. Angles, audio, and lighting aren’t great. Footage is too shaky for Mr. BH’s tastes. Possible solution?_

Interesting, indeed. That could be  _very_ useful– wait, is its name seriously Cam-bot? He  _really_ needs to talk to Flug about coming up with better names one of these days… Anyways. Next page.

Oh,  _speaking_ of useful, would you look at  _that_ …

No drawing came for this one. Just notes on a page titled 'Hero database’.

_Note: Mr. BH doesn’t like negligent villains._

_-Set up online database to keep information on heroes._

_-Abilities, tactics often used by them, as much data as possible._

_-Charge per use? Unsure._

_-Perhaps let villains make accounts? Exchange/add information? Unsure._

_-Ask Mr. BH for some heroes to start with._

Granted, he could just as easily go out and kill any hero causing problems himself in the blink of an eye. But that’s not interesting to him anymore. Why go seek out a fight you know you’ll win in two seconds? It’s been much more interesting guiding other villains along the path of victory.

A sly smirk snuck its way onto Black Hat’s face. Dipping his quill into some ink, the demon pulled out a stack of blank paper and began to write.

—

Okay. Lab’s in reasonable condition, Quinn’s order has been safely put away… One glance at the clock told Flug it was 5:15 now…. And he’s almost ready to hit the hay.

Almost.

With a great stealth that only seemed to bless him when he was doing something his boss wouldn’t like, the scientist slipped through the hallways, eventually reaching one of the house’s back doors and heading outside into the city.

Just  _one_ more thing he needs to do.

—

_Thunk!_

The noise startled Flug so bad he nearly fell off his ladder - lucky for him, the Build-bot he was making adjustments to was considerate enough to reach out and balance it. One look over his shoulder showed Black Hat standing by his desk, that 'thunk’ sound probably being that mountain of papers having been plopped on his workspace.

The doctor descended the ladder quickly and clumsily. “I-I’m sorry I w-was late t-to my shift, s-sir, my al-larm didn’t–”

“I  _know._  I’m the one who turned it  _off_ , idiot. Anyways, that’s not what I’m here about-” Black Hat paused for a second, immediately taking notice of a slight limp in Flug’s gait as the scientist walked over to him. “… Got yourself hurt again, did you?”

“O-Oh…!” Flug straightened his back slightly, doing what he could to cover the limp up. “Y-Yeah, it’s n-nothing imp-portant. I can still work f-fine.”

“…… Hmm.” Black Hat droned. Odd that he gets injured so much. It’s something that Black Hat had noticed a while after hiring him - once or twice every few months, something would seem physically wrong with him, lest that be a limp, a noticeable wince when he moved his arm a certain way, other sorts of bumps and bruises here and there - it didn’t happen often, but enough to strike Black Hat as strange. Of course, he couldn’t care less as long as it didn’t interfere with Flug’s work, which it never did. Black had simply chalked it up to clumsiness and lack of self-care. If he’s going to  _consistently_ forget to sleep and eat, then it wouldn’t be surprising that he’s so brittle, right? 

Well, anyways.

“I’ve been looking through your notes." He grinned a grin so devilish that Flug wasn’t sure whether he should be relieved that his boss isn’t angry or concerned about what’s going through his head. "Since you’re so ahead of schedule, I’ve prepared something that I’m sure will keep you busy for a while.”

Now it was Flug’s turn to be confused. Curiosity piqued, he plucked a paper from the top of the stack. His eyes could’ve been mistaken for lightbulbs with how quick they lit up. “Oh! This is for the database?”

Wow. Managed a reply without that annoying fucking stutter. What an incredible moment. 

All joking-to-self aside, Black gave the stack of paper a tap. "400 heroes to get you started.“ The demon stated. Pulling Flug’s notebook out of his coat, he placed that on the desk as well. "You’ll find my input on the back page. Have at it.” That was that, and Flug was left alone in the lab once again.

Perfect! This'll  _definitely_ keep him occupied until another order is placed. Or if they came up with a new product, of course, but they  _just_ put out a new one about a week ago. Still, Black Hat probably had some ideas of his own ready to surface at any time. The man’s actually damn  _brilliant_. Flug hadn’t been sure at first - he knew Black Hat was great in terms of general evil and power, but he didn’t really seem as adept in technology and the sciences. (Well, obviously, otherwise he probably wouldn’t need a  _scientist_.)

But still, the kinds of things Black Hat came up with were just so  _fascinating_. He’d propose concepts that seemed damn near scientifically impossible, yet Flug always found a way for them to work, and they were always a  _huge_ hit with their customers. With Black Hat’s extensive insight and experience in the area of villainy, and Flug’s ability to bring basically all his ideas to life and then more, they were making an  _amazing_ team.

Even if Black Hat gets annoyed as all hell by Flug. Ahaha. Oh, well.

“ _Flug!_ ”

That yell would always make him flinch, wouldn’t it. 

The doctor had hardly gotten started looking through the papers he’d just been given before Black Hat’s head poked through the door. “Feed Lil’ Jack before you get started on that. You know how antsy he gets when his dinner is late.”

“Oh! Of c-course, sir!” Leaving his dear lab for now, Flug started to make his way downstairs to the snake room, only for Black Hat to stop him for a few more moments with another query. 

“You  _have_ been getting the correct type of food for him, have you not?”

“Ahh……” Hard to say… Lil’ Jack’s got to be the pickiest snake Flug’s ever heard of, but…. “I b-believe so, sir….?”

The demon’s eyes rolled. "One of these days I’ll just let him eat  _you_ instead…“ Black Hat muttered before walking away.

Ahaha…. right…. Pushing that comment aside, Flug continued on his way.

Black Hat hardly ever  _actually_ went through with threats like that. It took a few weeks of heart attacks to finally realize that, but still…. 

Well… there was  _one_ threat that’s stuck with him. And he was  _certain_ Black Hat would follow through with it if he had to.

 

_"And this is the laboratory, where I assume you’ll spend most of your time.”_

_Flug was led into a **huge** room, simple-looking yet complete with all sorts of high-quality, advanced equipment, large tables to work on, cupboards to store things - it was the equivalent of walking a child into a candy shop, to be honest. The scientist wandered around slowly, staring at every single piece of equipment in the room with awe. _

_“And I-I’m…. allowed to **use** all t-this…?”_

_“Well **obviously**. How  **else** are you supposed to experiment?” The hell kind of a question even  **is** that? _

_Then there was a coldness. Despite the giddy feeling he was feeling moments before, Flug all of a sudden felt a menacing chill creep down his spine as his boss’s voice took on a whole new tone._

_“ **However**.” Even the room seemed to darken as the creature spoke. He didn’t even need to shapeshift or display some horrifying power to grab Flug’s full, undivided, terrified attention. With a low growl, his monocle almost seemed to tint red for a split second as he hissed, “Should you  **ever** try to conduct any sort of test or experiment on  **me** , the consequences will be  **unimaginably severe**.”_

_“O-On **you** , s-sir…?” Flug couldn’t manage to bring his voice above a fearful whisper. God, he hoped he at least sounded sincere… “N- **Never** , sir. I-I wouldn’t dream of i-it.”_

_What was unimaginably severe as of right now was this ridiculously tense silence now being stretched between them._

_“…… Good.” Black Hat finally said, voice low and threatening. “Know that others have tried. And **all failed**. You  **dare** attempt to play scientist on  **me** , and I will put you through absolute  **hell** until you  **beg. For. Death.** ”_

_No response could be produced. Flug simply stood stiffly, not daring to even move._

_He knew the demon was absolutely serious. And with fair reason - the mystery of how an entity like him even exists and functions is part of what makes him so powerful. Risking some nosy, ambitious scientist figuring out some kind of weakness on him? No wonder he wants to get this point across._

_Flug took a deep breath, letting himself relax just slightly. He knew he wouldn’t do that to Black Hat. Why worry about consequences for something he won’t do?_

_“I w-will not try anyth-thing of the s-sort, sir. I swear.”_

 

Flug noticed the air around him becoming warm, the lights dimming as well. He had come to a room with a set of cages and two doors. Lil’ Jack should be in his feeding spot by now, so… 

The scientist opened one of the cages, pulling out a beautiful, heavenly soft bunny with absolutely  _adorable_ button eyes and cradling it in one arm as he closed the cage again.

Lil’ Jack’s picky, all right. He likes devouring the most  _sickeningly cute_  rodents he can get. Honestly, that shouldn’t even  _be_ an eating preference in snakes. What, does the cuteness level affect  _taste_ or something? The animal’s been spending too much time around Mr. drinks-the-tears-of-orphans Black Hat too much, that’s for sure.

Honestly, the fact that Black Hat even  _has_ a pet is kind of a shocker, let alone how he takes care of it so meticulously. He  _never_ would have expected Black Hat to be the type to keep pets.

…… Truth be told, actually, working for Black Hat in  _general_ has been different than what he expected. He’s the entity of pure evil, Flug’s not denying that, but he’s been… well, less of a terror to work for than Flug thought. It’s not like he's  _always_ furious, after all. He’s just…. grumpy. Really grumpy. But he can be happy too, or even just plain indifferent. That’s not to say he hasn’t been….  _difficult_ to work under sometimes…. downright  _terrifying_ every now and then, sometimes even getting a little on the physical side, but…. it’s not like he was  _unbearable_. Flug had been expecting a lot  _worse_ , that’s for sure. Heck, he even got fed up with Flug’s constant having-near-panic-attacks every time he got upset with him and actually did something to kind of  _help,_ in a weird way _._

 _“Would you **stop that,** ”_ he had shouted once.  _“It’s like you think I'm **actually** going to kill you! Don’t you realize how bad for business that would be, you moron!?”_

_“How do you think people will take you seriously as a villain if you can’t handle a little scolding!?”_

Ha… Looking back on it, it’s…  _kind of_  amusing…. Black Hat had actually taught him to have some backbone the next few days after that, even helped with his stutter a bit… While Flug has to admit, he still can’t help but flinch sometimes when his boss is mad, but it’s not as bad as when he first started out, for sure.

…. He’s getting off track. Got to feed the snake.

Walking through the second door, Flug entered a room with one sole light source, a large heat lamp, otherwise cast completely in shadows. The doctor’s footsteps forwards seemed to trigger movement from the other side of the room. Twenty feet’s worth of black-and-red scales began to slither towards him, light gleaming off its obsidian body like a glistening river as it passed through the ray of light. It was a picture of raw grace in reptilian form - uuuntil it began squirming around at Flug’s feet and giving him the most puppy-dog-begging eyes a snake could give, a pale maroon tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

“Yeah y-yeah, I’ve got your prey right h-here.” Flug reassured the snake, setting the little bunny down in front of the snake. 

Lil’ Jack seemed skeptical. It prodded the terrified prey with its nose, then testily flicked its tongue at its fur, and lastly gave Flug a flat glare.

He’s fed this snake enough times to know what that means. “What do you m-mean it’s too f-fluffy? Bitch, I’ve seen you swallow an Ang-gora rabbit whole, don’t you t-tell me it’s too fluffy!”

At that, Flug got a loud, whiny hiss in response. Of course Black Hat would own the saltiest snake in all of existence.

“Well, it’s all you’re g-going to g-get right now, so s-suck it up, princess.” Not up for getting into any further argument with a literal reptile, Flug left it to its meal and walked off to a rock further back in the enclosure and sat upon it, pulling out his phone. This was usually the best time to check for…  _certain_ texts, without Black Hat lurking around every corner…

Just as he had feared, there was a new message. Just one line, but it was enough to make his stomach twist more than knowing his boss’s snake was currently inhaling a bundle of fluff from the pet store.

[I think it’s about time you pay us back in full, Slys.  - J ]

—

Flug’s kind of a mess, this much Black Hat knows all too well by now. A confusing, idiotic-yet-somehow-still-genius  _mess_.

But now Black Hat was being faced with a  _new_ puzzle regarding his employee.

It was something he’s noticed for a while now, actually. 

Equipment for Flug’s inventions is covered in the company’s funds. Flug  _used_ to by his own supplies for his… 'side projects’, but those have since been included as a business expense as well. Point is, he doesn’t pay for  _that_ anymore. Even when he  _had_ , he’d paid for things as though his funds were  _scarce_. He had  _more_ than enough to get higher quality equipment - something he knows Flug appreciates - and yet still would only get the cheapest of the cheap of anything. Was it merely a habit from being a dirt-poor recluse for so long? Was he saving up for something? If so,  _what_??? Black Hat isn’t an advocate for  _wasting_ money, of course, but he does realize he can  _afford_ things now,  _right?_

Furthermore, Flug’s room has hardly changed a bit from since it was given to him. Not only that, but he still has the same wardrobe from a year ago, unchanged (aside from one suit purchased on the off chance he’s required to come to something dressy…)

In fact, the only thing Black Hat's  _ever_ seen Flug spend money on is groceries, and considering the fact that he eats like a bloody  _bird_ , that’s not a big expense at all.

But again, Black Hat himself is not an extravagant spender, either. He  _knows_ the value of money in this world. And there  _totally_ isn’t a picture of him swimming in cash somewhere in the mansion.

Okay. It’s not even that big a  _deal_. But the curiosity is  _killing him_. If one does the math, Flug should have a very large sum of money at this point. But it’s not being  _kept_ anywhere, so where is it all  _going_?

Following Flug to the bank has shown the demon that he’s not keeping anything  _there_. The guy just gets the paychecks exchanged for hard cash and heads back home! Why, though? None of it’s being stored in the  _house_ , so where and what is he spending it on? This does  _not_ fall under regular human behavior, and Black Hat  _knows_ he’s not a drug addict, this is such a  _stupid thing to be bothered about_ , Flug  _shouldn’t be bloody **allowed** to keep confusing Black Hat like this–_

—

“ _Dr. Flug._ ”

Flug quite literally jolted out of his chair by the shout, he was so jumpy. Whirling around to face Black Hat, he responded automatically. “Yes, sir?”

“You make a reasonable profit working here, do you not?”

“Ah– Y-Yes sir, of c-course! Why?”

“Your paychecks. Where have they been going?”

“I… uh….” Blinking his eyes a few times, the doctor’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. “Wait, what?”

“You should have a decent amount of money to your name by now, and yet I’ve seen no trace of such.” His boss went on. “Why is that?”

“I….” Flug frowned, even more confused…. “I d-don’t think that’s any of your business, sir…?”

Oh dear. That was probably not the best thing to say.

Black Hat’s eye narrowed to a sharp slit. “I did not  _ask_ if it was my  _business_.  ** _Although…._** ” There he goes, circling Flug like a goddamn predator. Did he  _always_ have to do that when he got testy? It's  _very_ unsettling. “You wouldn’t happen to be  _hiding_ something from me, would you, doctor?”

“Wha-!? N-No, that’s not what I meant…! Look, I just–!” With an exasperated huff, Flug backed himself against the wall to stop the circling. “I-I just don’t see why you n-need to  _know_ ….? It’s n-not about you, h-honest…!”

“I like to know what my employees are  _up to_.” Darkness followed closely as Black Hat drew nearer. “And your insistence on  _secrecy_ is  _not helping your case. I will ask you **one more time–**_ ”

Like a blessing that came specifically to save Flug’s unlucky ass, a small, squeaky Hat-bot wheeled itself eagerly into the lab, skidding to a stop right next to the demon it was designed after.

“Reminder! Reminder!” It chorused, its annoying robot voice  _just_ frustrating enough to pull Black Hat’s attention away from Flug so he could glare at it, “Appointment scheduled with client at thirteen-hundred hours!”

Ah. How could he forget? 

His glare once again turned to Flug. “This conversation is  _not_ over.” He spat. “I expect a full explanation upon my return.  _Start rehearsing your script now._ ”

Kicking the Hat-bot aside in his annoyance, Black Hat finally left the lab.

Leaving only one thought on Flug’s mind: 

 _Fuck_.

-

-

-

Well,  _that_ was a waste of time. Black Hat left the apartment building with a horribly dissatisfied look on his face. He went and wasted a whole trip uptown for  _that?_  Bloody idiot is knee-deep in debt and yet he expects–

…. Hold the phone. Is that…  _Dr. Flug?_

Huh. Indeed it was. What are the chances of spotting him on the same street of such a large city, both of them in the same area at the same time? That kind of thing only happens in movies and shitty fanfiction. 

Yet behold, off across the street, Black Hat only caught a quick glimpse of the shaky doctor before he had slipped into a dark alleyway, one similar to where they had met, even. A known meeting place for _all sorts_  of shady characters. Now what on  _Earth_ would the little scientist be doing sneaking around in a place like  _that?_

Well, well. One way to find out. Evaporating into an evasive stream of smoke, Black Hat eagerly followed suit.

“I’m getting tired of waiting, Flug.”

It was your typical back alley. Gross green dumpster pressed against one of the two cement buildings that left but a narrow pathway between them, trash scattered about the ground, an unpleasant sultry smell… and to make the scene even  _more_ unappealing, there was a gang of less-than-pretty gang-looking wannabes clogging up what was already a pretty small space on the path.

Flug was keeping as much distance as he could, but these wolves were circling closely. One in particular - a short, burly man with a leather vest, bald head, and salt-and-pepper biker beard. 

“You’ve owed us for far too long now. My patience is runnin’ out.” The bald man said. He seemed to be the ringleader, judging from how everyone else seems to orbit around him. And simply by the overly dominant way he speaks.

“Y-You said I could pay you back  _gradually_ , Judas. We ag-greed on that from day one.” Flug muttered back, barely keeping eye contact. “I gave you all I h-have on m-me.”

“It’s been a  _year_.”

“ _You said I could have two!_ ”

A bitter chuckle came from the man. “Well, things change.” He snapped his fingers and gestured to one of the surrounding men, a lanky man in a red hoodie, dirty-blonde hair, and most unnervingly, holding a crowbar. “Thought you had gotten yourself a fancy new job that paid good. Why’s it taking you so long to get back to us, man?”

Flug cast a nervous glance the blonde's way, trying to keep his attention on both him  _and_ the short one. “I h-have  _other expenses_ , Judas! I’m doing  _everything I can,_  but I can’t just–!”

Another snap of the fingers, cutting Flug off. The closer man gave a swing of his crowbar, connecting right with the scientist’s lower torso. His vision went fuzzy, and he found himself fighting to breathe for a few seconds that felt like hours. It was a miracle he didn’t fall right over.

Hmm. This explains all those 'injuries’ his doctor kept mysteriously getting….

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear, m'boy.” The leader droned on. “I don't  _care_ about your 'other expenses’.”

“He’s not going to cooperate.” The taller one spat in annoyance, swaying his crowbar from side to side as he readied another swing. Flug was still trying to get his breath back from the first blow; he doubted he could take another one very well. He forced himself to shuffle back, only to get stuck cornered between a dumpster and alley wall. 

Well, fuck.

“I-I  _told you already_ , I’m d-doing  _everything I **can**_ –”

“ _No you’re fuckin' **not**!_ ” The first one -Judas, as Flug seemed to call him- shouted in anger. With a snap of his fingers, the lackey with the crowbar took his second swing. Flug barely managed to duck out of the way again, a deafening crack sounding from above him as  metal met concrete. 

Maybe the doctor should be a  _little_ more worried about this situation, but spending all his days with a nightmare-inducing creature of pure horrors seems to have given him a bit of spine, because he’s just getting more  _annoyed_ than anythingat this point. “Y-You know,  _killing_ the people you want things from i-isn’t a great way to go about  _getting those things,_ you walking  _cliché_ …” He muttered under breath in his annoyance. Aaand regretted it almost immediately. 

At first, the lead ruffian looked about ready to let his underlings crack Flug’s head into the ground. But then he chuckled, beard bouncing up and down. “Y'know what, you’s prob'ly right.” Judas held out his arms in inquiry, looking side to side at his men. “Mebbe we should jus'  _follow him home_ , eh? Meet the doc’s boss  _himself_ and take it up with _'im?_ ” The others joined in a chorus of sneering laughs.  _That_ got Flug to stiffen up.

“N-No way. I-I’m not going t-to just l-lead you  _an-annoyances_  to h-him…" That little flicker of sass he had a second ago was quickly fleeting, but like  _hell_ he was going to give in now and bother  _Black Hat_  with this bullshit. Just  _thinking_ about him finding out about this made him shudder more than  _these_ jokers ever could.

"Ooo, s'at right, tough guy?” Judas taunted, lifting Flug by his shirt. That’s fine. He’s used to that. “Sounds like yer boss is a real  _important guy_. I  _really_ think we should pay him a visit - I bet  _he'll_ be a bit more reasonable… after some  _persuasion_ , of course.” Oh man, the urge for Flug to roll his eyes at  _that_ empty threat was strong, but he managed to resist it. Better not push his luck, considering the circumstances. 

“So, lemme put this straight for you, Fluggy boy….” The brute growled, “You’re gonna take us to yer superior so we can clear all this up, or _I break every bone in your pathetic little body_ –”

“Oh come on now, I doubt you even know how many bones there  _are_ in the human body.”

The voice came out of nowhere.  _Everyone_ jumped, immediately looking around for the source. Flug’s stomach knotted in recognition of that voice. “M-Mr. Black Hat….!?” He stammered in shock.

“ _Black Hat!?_ ” Judas repeated, equally as shocked, dropping Flug and stepping back. 

“Oh,  _splendid!_  I don’t need to  _introduce_ myself!" A loud crash startled everyone enough to get another jump out of them. Black Hat had seemed to fall out of thin air atop the rusty dumpster, then gracefully jumping down to the ground between his employee and the crowbar lackey, smiling wider than the ocean. "And I see you’ve met my dear  _doctor_ …” Not taking his grinning gaze off Judas, one swing of his cane knocked the crowbar out of the lackey’s hands, and it disappeared in a burst of green flames upon hitting the ground. Satisfied with the intimidated looks he was getting, Black Hat leaned forwards on his cane, fangs and eyes glowing in the shadows. “So what was it you were saying there, dear sir? You had some  _persuading_ to do of me?”

Not so talkative  _now_ , were they. The little hooligan hive-mind seemed at a loss for words, and my oh my, what  _delicious_ waves of terror came from the pathetic little things. Black Hat stood up straight, swung his cane over his shoulder, and quite casually strode towards the speechless Judas. 

“Don’t kill us…!” The ringleader begged, voice quivering, “We didn’t know the guy worked fer  _you_ ….!”

“ _Kill_ you?” A good-humored laugh erupted from the villain. Flug could tell it was fake. “Why, you’re in luck, my dear little human!” He swirled around Judas like smoke, sweeping up behind him and slinging an arm around his shoulder, startling him. “You see, under  _normal_ circumstances…” Black Hat hissed in his ear, “… I’d have been very  ** _unforgiving_**  about the damage you’ve done to my property.” Just has suddenly as he had drawn near, Black Hat slipped away from his target, standing in front of him again with that shit-eating grin. “But you know what? Your services could be of  _use_ to me. It might be worthwhile to have connections of your sort around." Grinning wider, he extended a hand to shake. "So,  _my 'good’ sir_ , what do you say? Willing to offer your services to a humble old businessman every now and then?”

Judas looked left and right, exchanging confused glances with his men. The demon chuckled to himself - he could tell what they were thinking.  _That’s a better arrangement than getting slaughtered._

After promptly swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Judas stepped forwards. Very hesitantly, he shook the other’s hand.

There was a sickening crunch, followed by a shriek of pain that near made Flug’s ears bleed.

“206 bones in the human body.” Black Hat stated calmly as he crushed the human’s hand in his own. That fake good humor that he’d been charading was quickly melting away to reveal a twisted, sadistic gleam in his eye. Yanking Judas forwards and leaving barely any space between them, his grip only tightened, sparking even more  _disgustingly_ painful noises. “27 of which are located in the  _hand_.” Black purred, tone thick with malice. His eyes then narrowed, and the purr turned into a snarl. “ _And believe me, I can crush each one into dust as if they were **chalk**_. _If you or your whelps **ever** come near my scientist again, **you will have far worse than broken bones to worry about**._ ”

Point having been made, Black Hat finally let the whimpering brute go. Tail between legs, he and his pack scampered off as fast as they could - oh, but they weren’t getting off  _that_ easily. Each move a casual wisp, Black Hat held up his cane, looking down it as if aiming a rifle. “Pleasure doing business with you." 

A deafening burst broke the air, sizzling green magic shooting from the end of his cane and connecting with the head of the lout that had hit Flug. There wasn’t even a scream as his body was enveloped in an emerald blaze, not even leaving ash behind as he was scorched out of existence. 

If they weren’t going as fast as humanely possible  _before_ , they sure were now. Black Hat chuckled to himself, soaking in the last few moments of raw terror he had gotten from them before they turned a corner and fell out of sight.

Now there was only  _one_ source of fear. A kind of fear that those brutes hadn't  _once_ stricken in the scientist. Good. Only  ** _Black Hat_** is allowed to strike that kind of fear in Flug. And on  _that_ note…

"Oh Flug, Flug, Flug…. I'm  _so_ disappointed.” Black Hat turned around slowly, mild disdain written across his features. Flug, aside from getting to his feet, hadn’t moved an inch; he just stood there, dead silent and anxiety-filled gaze glued to his boss. The demon walked over with a 'tsk tsk tsk’, as if he were scolding a misbehaving child. "I thought we had a real  _understanding_ , you know? I thought we were on the  _same page!_ “ Backing Flug firmly against the wall, his eyes narrowed to slits. "I mean  _really_. You should know by now that I  ** _despise_** being lied to.”

“I-I-I d-didn’t l-l-lie s-sir–”

“ ** _You may as well have._** ” The eldritch snapped with sudden fierceness, shutting the smaller man up instantly. But it was like a switch - the very next second, that anger was again replaced with that chiding look from before. His head tilted to the side, and he drew his cane up, using it to lift Flug’s chin. “So tell me,  _doctor….. what else have you been keeping from me?”_

“ _N-N-Noth-thing….!_ ”

“ _'I have other expenses, Judas.’_  Is that not what you said?” He leaned in closer, and Flug could almost  _feel_ the cynicism emanating off of him. “What 'other expenses’, Dr. Flug?”

“I-It’s not…” …. No…. Black Hat was obviously tired of the question-evading. While Flug  _still_ didn’t think it was any of his boss’s business, if he tries to keep it up, he’ll only get in  _more_ trouble…

And he  _does_ kind of owe it to Black Hat after what he just did.

With a defeated sigh, Flug looked down, twiddling his fingers nervously. “It’s j-just school payments…. Paying back my college, you know…?” He admitted softly. “That’s where the rest of the m-money’s been going.”

What Flug didn’t expect was the mixed look of surprise and anger that suddenly took over the demon’s face. “ _Excuse me?_ ”

“U-Um….” Flug frowned, head tilting in confusion, “College is expensive, sir… I don’t know what to tell you…” And water is wet too, by the way, but he opted not to say that out loud as he didn’t want to overload Black Hat’s brain with such mindblowing information.

“I  _know_ that, you dolt, but  _you_ shouldn't  _still_ be– Tsk…” Black Hat finally backed off, giving Flug some space. “You can walk, can you not?”

“Uhh… Yeah, probably….” He took a few steps forward, somehow managing to ignore that strong ache in his abdomen. 

“Then let’s go.” With that, Black Hat was on his way out of the alley again, Flug following close behind as usual.

“Sir…?” Flug called, noticing him turn down the wrong street, “I-Isn’t the villa the other way…?”

“We’re not  _going_ to the villa.” Black countered, “We’re going to your college.”

 _What!? Why???_  ….. Well, that’s what Flug  _thought_ , anyways. At this point he’s too afraid to actually  _ask_.

“….. So.” The demon said, glancing back, “What was it that those men wanted from you anyways, hmm?”

“Oh… um….” Flug looked down. “I just… owed them some money for something I bought a while back….”

“'Something’ as in?" 

"Ahh… well, um….. You know that forcefield I used during my interview…?”

The demon raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said the inventions you used that day were built from scraps and school equipment.”

“A-And they were! Mostly…. b-but there was this very… 'specific’….  _pricy_ energy generator I needed to complete the forcefield, so…”

“So you resorted to a black market of nerd tech?"  His boss snickered. "Of course, because who  _wouldn't_ go for that obvious solution?”

“Uhhh….. y-yeah, ha ha…..” Okay…. at least he doesn’t seem as mad right now…? “… S-Sir, if I may…. y-you’re not going to threaten the people at my  _school_ , are you….?”

“Meh. Haven’t decided yet.” Black Hat replied, sounding ever so casual about it. “Probably won’t need to.”

“What do you mea-?”

“Who do you usually go to when making your payments?” The eldritch cut him off, clearly not caring about answering any more questions. “You have a student services building, I assume?”

“Y-Yes sir, but-”

“We’re going to be making a stop at the library first.” Before the thought of asking why could even cross Flug’s mind, Black Hat shot him a crafty smirk. “They have printers there, yes?”

—

It was  _supposed_ to be just another average day, pleasantly dull and routine schedule of dealing with a bunch of stressed out college students making appointments with on-campus counselors or seeing teachers about grades or complaining about some technical glitches or other mundane student shit, but  _nooooo_ , somebody’s gone and seen fucking  _Black Hat_  of all people skulking around the library and now the  _whole school's_ in a panic. Crazy inexplicable eldritch supervillains are why Jessica the receptionist can’t have nice things.

“People are saying that he’s been seen with one of our graduates from last year,” The dean had been telling her, shooting wary glances at the doors of the building all the while, “Flug Slys.”

“Isn’t that the guy who wears the bag all the time?” Jessica asked, seeming incredibly unbothered as she continued to type on her keyboard during the conversation. The demon basically  _owns_ the whole island, she figured people should be  _used_ to him showing up every now and then to random places. 

“ _Yes_ , why do you think he was identified so easily!?” The dean snapped, jewelry jangling as she paced side to side. “Security has contacted GuardianGates, and they’re sending the nearest available hero to our location.  _In the meantime_ , if they come  _here_ , you need to stall them as long as pos-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, her heart sank with dread when she heard the door open, followed by a click of shoes confidently striding inside. 

“Huh. They’ve changed a few things up since the last time I’ve been here. Too many windows.” Black Hat commented, walking right in like he owned the place with a folder under his arm and looking around. “Who’s that one standing behind the front desk, doctor?”

“T-The head dean, sir…” Flug answered, still close behind his boss.

“Well isn’t that just  _perfect_!” The demon purred with a devilish grin. “ _Just_ the person I’d like to see!" 

She knew there was no point in running. While Flug and Jessica exchanged casual hellos, the dean folded her arms behind her back and forced a polite smile, asking, "How can I help you today?”

“Well, I am just  _so glad_  you asked!” The demon replied in that patronizing tone he seemed to love so much. Three tentacles rose from his back, frisking around the room until they yanked three chairs (out from under from people who were already sitting in them, of course) over to them, knocking them none too kindly into their seats and also sitting down himself. Gesturing to Flug he smiled an exaggeratedly large smile at the dean and purred, "I’m sure you're  _well_ acquaintanced with Dr. Flug here.“

"Of…. of course….?”

“Ah, good. As you should be.” He held his smile, but the one visible eye on Black Hat’s face narrowed  _just_ enough to make the woman across from him squirm nervously in her seat. “You know, considering you're  _basically_ stealing from him.”

“Wha- _What!?_ ” The dean sputtered,  _appalled_ by the accusation. “Why that’s-! That's  _ridiculous…!_ ”

At this, Jessica leaned in with a sudden intense interest. Maybe it  _was_ worth coming to work today.

Black Hat didn’t fail to notice, glancing her way. His eyes then flicked to her PC. “That’s a nice computer you have there.” He said, “Would you say it functions well?”

“Huh? Oh-” The younger girl looked down at her monitor. “Oh yeah, for sure. Probably the best I’ve ever used, actually - the memory storage is insane, it's  ** _really_** fast, haven’t had  _any_ virus problems with it…. There are actually quite a few computers around campus like this one, actually.”

“Interesting you should say that! Care to take a guess as to who  _designed_ it?”

“… Wait… You don’t mean….?” She looked to Flug, both surprised and uncertain. The doctor could only muster an awkward shrug in response. 

Black laughed. “Oh, I’m not surprised you didn't  _know_. See, Flug has actually made  _quite a few_  things for your precious little college.” When his attention fell on the dean again, she was rigid, eyes locked onto him tensely. Black Hat’s grin grew wider, another grin that day that Flug could tell was  _far_ from sincere. “And yet, for some strange reason, finding  _any_ sort of credit towards my employee for his achievements is a  _surprisingly difficult task_. Why is that, I wonder?”

“The… Our school’s creations are contributed to by  _many_ of our students.” The dean spoke slowly, quietly, “It only makes the most  _sense_ that they are considered creations of the school as a whole rather than each of the student by  _name_ -”

“Oh dear, I thought you’d be able to hold up  _some_ sort of argument before resorting straight to lies.” The demon was like a knife with how quick he was to cut people off lately. “But you  _did_ actually manage to answer my question! The school as a whole takes credit to make you look good, doesn’t it? Look at all these brilliant students with all their clever little ideas! Our school is just the  _best_ , isn’t it?" He let out a snide hiss, "Now this may come as a  _surprise_ to you, but I actually  _like brushing up_  on the accomplishments of those I work with,  _especially_ those with as bold claims in their resumes as  _Dr. Flug_  has - it’s a little thing called  _fact-checking_ , perhaps you've  _heard_ of it.” Pulling the folder out from under his arm, he stared to flip through it. “Lucky for  _me_ my doctor kept a handy little collection online of all his blueprints and early sketches of  _everything_ he ever invented here,  _which is really damn handy since, again, you have failed to provide adequate credit **anywhere**_.”

Flug couldn’t take his eyes off Black Hat. He knew the demon was angry, but it definitely wasn’t about his school’s supposed 'exploitation’ of him. The demon wouldn’t care about that - he’s a master of exploitation himself, and he’s made it  _abundantly_ clear that he doesn’t care enough about Flug to do anything like this just for his sake - so there’s definitely something else going on inside his head, but what…? Why is he so  _mad_?

“And would you just look at all this!” Black Hat went on as he laid out small prints of Flug’s work, comparing them to articles and other such webpages on the completed works. “Programmable lecture recorders, mini trackers to put on important items as not to lose them, all  _sorts_ of tools that are now getting used in schools across the whole  _country_.  ** _All under this college’s name_**. And that’s not even to mention all the improvements and repairs he’s made around here that’s probably saved you thousands on top of that!”

“Well it’s–”  
  
“And see, the  _first_ thing I think when I come across all this is 'Oh, that makes sense. He’s made things for his university so that the profit that would normally be  _shared_ with him from these creations can go towards his tuition and other college expenses  _instead_. What a  _handy_ little way to break off those chains.’”

“But–”

“Now  ** _imagine my surprise_**  when I find out  _a year later_  that he's  _still_ drowning in thousands of dollars of debt when he’s already paid you back at least _three times_ the amount of what he owed by now through his work for you!”

“ _Could I just say–_ ”

“ ** _No_** _, you **lying termite!**_ ” The demon snapped. His monocle gave a red flash, low growls of different frequencies echoing through the room, “ _We are going to settle this **properly** , so you had better–_”

“Hold it right there!”

 ** _Siiiiiiiigh_**. 

All attention turned to the front entrance where, just their luck, a hero now stood. They wore all blue, with white hair with yellow streaks flowing dramatically in the wind of the opened door.

“Not now BirthWright, I’m making a point here."Black Hat bitterly huffed, rolling his eyes.

Okay, Flug supposed that was… fair…. sounding bored already by the person’s sudden appearance, but the scientist sure seemed unnerved by the new arrival.

"Well, I’m sure you’ve made your point just fine.” The hero said slowly, speaking as though they were talking to a mentally insane person that could go off any second - which, let’s be honest, actually does describe Black Hat somewhat well. “Now, I'm  _sure_ nobody here wants any trouble, so how about you just be on your way and these lovely students and faculty members can get back to work, hmm? Take your evil ways somewhere  _else_.”

 ** _Ha!_**  "My my, taking care of a student’s debts! How  _dastardly_ of me!“ Black mocked, hand pressing against his chest in 'shock’, "Better take me down  _quick_ , or I might do something  _really_ evil, like  _paying my taxes!_ ”

 _Snrrrk_. Okay, despite the fact that there’s a powerful hero ready to resort to fighting at a moment’s notice, Flug couldn’t help but stifle a small laugh over that line.

BirthWright, unfazed by the mockery, held a hand out over the ground next to them. Flug watched in a keen moment of interest as several flowers started to sprout from the ground beneath the hero, forcing their way through the hardwood flooring, then as those flowers popped right out of the surface with glowing white bodies attached. The creatures were small, almost elf-ish in appearance, and each one made a low humming noise that was slightly unique from each of the others.

“I’ll use force if I have to.” They stated, the lemony streaks in their hair starting to glow alongside the creatures, “I won’t let you hurt anybody here, understand?”

“Okay,  _come on_. For the record, I could’ve killed every person on this campus a thousand times over in the amount of time it took you to even _get here_ , so obviously you’re not  _that_ concerned about it.” Rising from his chair and casually stretching one arm, then the other, Black Hat gave the entities an uninterested stare and then purred to BirthWright, “But if you insist, I suppose I could use something a little more entertaining than  _these_ bores.”

So it began. A fight broke out instantaneously, Jessica and the dean bolting under the front desk to hide and students fleeing the building left and right. Flug just kind of sat there and watched, intrigued by both BirthWright’s superpower and seeing his boss getting into an actual hero fight up close.

Lashing dark tentacles whirled around the room, bashing the glowing creatures mercilessly, yet new ones seemed to immediately replace each one that died. Obviously, he figured, he’d have to take out the  _source_.

Black Hat’s eyes were locked onto the hero. They had surrounded themselves with basically a barrier of the glowing creatures in an attempt at protection…. Hm. Not a  _terrible_  tactic, but it won’t work.

With a bored yawn, Black Hat merged all the tentacles together and basically made a drill out of them, boring a hole into the wall of creatures with little to no effort at all. Before the entities could be replaced with new ones, the tentacles dispersed and coiled around BirthWright’s body. He yanked them forward, slamming them into the ground.

“So  _dull_. I was hoping you could hold my interest at least a  _little_ longer than that.” The eldritch’s eyes narrowed. “Well. One less bore of a vigilante to worry about, I suppose.” As if he ever worried in the  _first_  place.

The tentacles slowly began to tighten, garbled screaming coming from the hero as their body was getting crushed, but Black Hat went still when he heard a call from his employee to wait. Annoyed, he glared at Flug. “What do you mean  _wait?_  Don’t even have the gall to watch a scummy  _hero_  die?”

“Oh, t-that’s not it at all, sir.” Flug replied calmly. He looked at the fallen hero with an almost  _disturbing_  look of curiosity. “But they have a very interesting power. If it’s alright, it m-may be beneficial to take them back s-so I can run some… tests.”

Black Hat quirked an eyebrow, quiet for a second. With a roll of the eyes, he finally spat, “Fine. You’d better make  _very_  good use of them, then.” He knocked the hero’s head into the ground, rendering them unconscious, then hoisted them up to take back. But before they could go, there was still unfinished business to take care of…

When Black Hat looked back to the receptionist’s desk, he saw that the pair of women had poked their heads out to watch, the dean clearly horrified, the receptionist holding her phone out and filming…. Okay then….

He walked forwards slowly, calculatedly, filled to the  _brim_  with hostility. He leaned forwards. “ _Now then_ ….” He hissed chillingly, “About Dr. Flug’s  _debt_ ….”

“C-Consider it f-forgott-ten.” The dean squeaked, voice shaking with fear.

That got her a sharp grin. “ _Splendid_. I  _knew_  you would see things our way.” Much to the woman’s relief, he finally turned away. “ _Flug. Come._ ” Dragging the hero out with them, the pair finally headed for home.

No words were exchanged on the way back.

It was quiet.

Deathly quiet.

Until they were back at the manor.

 -

_Slam!_

No warning. The second they walked inside, one of those never-ending tentacles threw Flug against a wall, and in the next second, his boss was inches away, piercing eyes ripping a hole into Flug’s soul and hot breath leaking out through his bared, growling fangs.

“ _What kind of a **pathetic**  excuse of a villain  **are**  you? Are you a fucking  **doormat** , Flug? With how you let them walk all over you **, I can’t tell anymore!”**_

“I-I–“

Another fierce growl threw Flug into a fearful silence. “ ** _You belong to ME_** _. Understand? Your loyalty, your smarts, your fear, it is **all mine** and  **mine**   **alone**. I thought you’d have  **realized**  that when you  **took this job**.” _ The air seemed tainted with venom as the demon’s anger grew. “ _You don’t seem to have what it takes for this line of work. Just **look**  at you, look at how  **pathetically**  you cower in my presence! What’s wrong, Flug? Didn’t realize what you were  **signing up**  for? Are you too bloody  **fragile**  to work for someone like  **me**?”_

Quiet. Finally there was a space of quiet.

Flug took a deep breath. “….. Sir. Trust me.” He stared into Black Hat’s eyes, not letting fear get the better of him in this one moment. “I worked too hard for this. It’s going to take more than a few bruises and scoldings to get rid of me.”

Quiet. One more space of quiet.

Black Hat returned the stare so intensely. Reading him. Thinking.

Suddenly, Flug was let go.

“It’s good you feel that way. It would be a  _ **shame**_ to end our business relations so soon..” Black Hat’s steady glare didn’t waver. “Are there any other  _secrets you’re keeping_  that I should know about?”

“No, sir.” None you should know of.

“…….. Good.” A decent level of space between them was at last granted again when Black Hat began heading to his office, leaving their prisoner with Flug. “Go play with your new guinea pig.”

It’s good that Flug is so determined to keep this job.

Black Hat likes it when they don’t try to run.

—

Headache. Bad way to wake up.

Even worse: waking up strapped to a table in a dark room with a light shining on you.

“Oh dear. You’re aw-wake.”

BirthWright almost couldn’t make out the image of Flug across the room. He was at a table with all sorts of vials of liquids and test tubes and notes.

“And I was  _just_  finished with you, too… If only you’d just s-stayed out a little longer.”

The hero struggled helplessly against their binds as Flug drew closer, sighing.

“I’m s-sorry it had to be like this. You were in the wrong place at the wrong t-time, it would seem. But I  _did_  learn a lot from you. Who knows, maybe years from now, I’ll b-be able synthesize artificial life with w-what I’ve gotten from you.”

They couldn’t find their voice. Couldn’t seem to say a word, even as the doctor came right to their side.

“If only you’d stayed unconscious… You would’ve died  _much_  more peacefully.” Flug sighed again, shaking his head. "My boss isn’t very h-happy with me. It’s going t-to be harder for me to feed mys-self now without him g-getting suspicious, see…? You underst-stand, I’m sure… Have t-to make use of every op-pport-tunity.”

Wait, what is he talking about…!?

“It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted the soul of a superhero…”

The last thing BirthWright felt was a stab of pain in the neck. 

Everything went black.


End file.
